The most important aspects I stress when folks ask me about choosing a firearm are the following.....
-What’s it for? SD vs strictly plinking. (Yes you can plink with an SD firearm too)
-Will you actually be shooting it? If you are looking to buy something to throw in a drawer that is treated like fire extinguisher you never think about.....than don’t buy a firearm.
-You need to budget for some kind of safe storage. Quick access for SD any old lockable container for plinking. (It’s not about thieves it’s about, kids or other untrained and or irresponsible folks we all have in our houses at some point or another.
Beyond those things I let them hone in on a platform they like and go from their. I generally do not like suggesting Glocks or most striker fired guns for new shooters/folks who will be very casual shooters as I think the triggers are too light and they typically require a trigger pull for disassembly. Since 99% of firearm use is administrative in nature I don’t like automatically suggesting a Glock 19 which is damn near perfect IF the person will be training, learning, shooting and embracing it. If not I much prefer a revolver or a DA/SA type system.
There are eleventy billion good firearm options out there. The tool isn’t the first place to start IMO.
-What’s it for? SD vs strictly plinking. (Yes you can plink with an SD firearm too)
-Will you actually be shooting it? If you are looking to buy something to throw in a drawer that is treated like fire extinguisher you never think about.....than don’t buy a firearm.
-You need to budget for some kind of safe storage. Quick access for SD any old lockable container for plinking. (It’s not about thieves it’s about, kids or other untrained and or irresponsible folks we all have in our houses at some point or another.
Beyond those things I let them hone in on a platform they like and go from their. I generally do not like suggesting Glocks or most striker fired guns for new shooters/folks who will be very casual shooters as I think the triggers are too light and they typically require a trigger pull for disassembly. Since 99% of firearm use is administrative in nature I don’t like automatically suggesting a Glock 19 which is damn near perfect IF the person will be training, learning, shooting and embracing it. If not I much prefer a revolver or a DA/SA type system.
There are eleventy billion good firearm options out there. The tool isn’t the first place to start IMO.